Gentech – Activiteiten

On Friday May 4 the Gr8chaoskaravaan – one of six bicycle caravans against the G8 summit in Germany – together with A SEED carried out a protest action against a planned test field with genetically manipulated maize by Pioneer in the dutch town of Werkendam. The caravan finds it outrageous that the municipality has not been properly informed about the test field in advance.

This Saturday A SEEDs new documentary "Gene Seeks Farmer" was presented in the Balie, Amsterdam. After there was a good debate, with panel members Michel Haring, Krista van Velzen, Maaike Raaijmakers en Lidy Demunter. Illustrating the controversy around the introduction of GMO crops, the film challenges farmers, representatives and a … verder lezen

At the 29th of May at 22.50 p.m. the documentary Eternal Mash (Catherine van Campen) will be broadcasted on Dutch public television (Ned2). At the same time the movie is broadcasted there will be an international convention on biological diversity in Bonn (Germany). More than 5,000 delegates from all over the world will visit Bonn to discuss the protection and the preservation of species and habitats, a sustainable use of biological diversity as well as a fair distribution of access and exploitation.The importance of preservation of species is Ruurd his message as well.

The Dutch website gentech.nl has a partition in the agenda with all (known) petitions about genetic modification and related issues. From each petition you can find a short description and a link to the website hosting the petition. The descriptions are in Dutch but most petitions the page is referring … verder lezen

Amsterdam – Today, A SEED Europe held a picket-line at a conference on genetically modified soy. The objective of the meeting was to discuss sustainability risks and benefits of GM soy and to formulate management options for companies. A SEED reminded participants upon arrival that not only is GM still controversial, but so is large-scale soy production in general. A SEED did not participate in the conference itself because the announcement made clear that in our eyes crucial poignant issues in the (GM) soy debate were not open for discussion. The organisors want to have a dialogue with the soy industry and that is impossible if the use of GM crops or production reduction are on the table. Read more in below press release on the conference and the criticism of the peasant movements in the south and critical organisatons in the north.

Sunday February 15 Hagen and Adrienne Jonker from the Friesch village Appelscha organised an afternoon in the community center of Ravenswoud about genetic engineering in the food chain. ASEEDs film Farmer and The Gene as an introduction followed by 3 lectures and ending with a public discussion.

About 60 persons attended the Dutch conference about gmo-free zones that took place in the venue Boerderij Mereveld in Utrecht on February 4. The event, organised by Greenpeace Netherlands, organic chain representative Biologica, and A SEED, informed about the opportunities and limitations for creating gmo-free zones in the Netherlands. Participants formed a varied group consisting of farmers, provincial politicans, policy makers, activists, and concerned citizens.

43 Days after departure in Berlin the ‘GMO-free Hiking’ tour reached its goal and destinaton on July 30: Brussels. Hannes Lorenzen, spokesperson on argiculture and rural development in the European Parliament, received 35,000 Signatures from Joseph Wilhelm, the initiator of the march, organic entrepreneur and farmer Joseph Wilhelm. These were collected during the 6 weeks of the Genfrei Gehen-march only, to voice a widely supported call for a GMO-free world.